Accent on fluency

Non-native English speakers in a battle to be understood

February 29, 2008|BY ELIZABETH BAIER STAFF WRITER

Mabel Delgado, a native of Mexico, has taken English classes for two years and considers herself fluent. But as a waitress for Island Jack's Bar and Grill in West Palm Beach, she tires when customers ask her where she's from or to repeat herself.

"Sometimes, when I say 'Would you like a dessert?' people don't understand me ... Sometimes people ask me if I'm Russian," said Delgado, 20, a business student at Palm Beach Community College. "I don't want to change my accent because I want to sound like an American. I just want to have good pronunciation to feel more professional."

Delgado is among the growing number of non-native English speakers around South Florida who strive to be understood better. They've taken English classes for years and largely consider themselves fluent. But they can't seem to ditch the accent.

"The biggest challenge is the inconsistency of our language," said Karen Parks, who teaches adult English as a Second Language classes for the Palm Beach Public School district. "There are no hard and fast rules on pronunciation in English. It makes it very, very hard to figure out how the language works."

Classes geared for people who already speak English and want to improve their pronunciation have steadily increased in demand in recent years. Many are now offered at community colleges and private language institutes around South Florida periodically throughout the year.

Many students in these classes are professionals who aim to improve their pronunciation and remain competitive in the workforce. They include doctors, architects, real estate agents and teachers who don't want to embarrass themselves or risk losing out on career opportunities.

"They are very bright, very educated and very motivated," Parks said. "Some have studied our language in their home countries for years."

Jose "Pepe" Diaz, who heads the Broward Latin Chamber of Commerce, said the stiffest competition in the workforce often comes from younger, U.S.-born Hispanics, who are reared bilingually and have near-perfect pronunciation in both languages.

FOR THE RECORD - CORRECTION PUBLISHED SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2008An article on Page 1A of Friday's edition included an incorrect name for the School District of Palm Beach County.

"Today the competition is fierce," said Diaz, 59, a Pembroke Pines resident who moved to South Florida from Cuba in 1961. "If you are coming from Latin America and you have a degree, you have to compete with the kids who are raised here and it's hard."

The hot-button issue of immigration also is sending many non-native English speakers to classes to improve their pronunciation, said Ana Roca, a language professor at Florida International University.

"Many people are showing anti-immigrant attitudes very openly," Roca said. "There always are chances that people are going to discriminate because of somebody's accent."

How accented English is perceived also varies depending on a person's native language, Roca said. People often associate a French accent with perfume and sophistication and a British accent with Shakespeare and literature. A Spanish accent has different connotations.

"They associate Spanish with the person who may be cutting your lawn or illegal immigrants," Roca said. "There definitely are more stereotypes for people with a Spanish accent."Carlos Quintana, who teaches an accent reduction class at Miami Dade College's Aventura outreach center, said most native Spanish speakers find it hard to differentiate between certain vowel sounds, like a long "e," as in keys, and the short "i" sound in kiss.

The simple past tense of verbs ending in "-ed" and words that begin in "s" are especially troublesome for Spanish speakers because of a combination of intonation, facial expression and tongue placement, Quintana said. It's also difficult for many to understand why certain vowel combinations - like "ee" in "sheep" and "ea" in "cheap" - sound the same. Quintana insists students can improve their pronunciation as long as they follow a few tips, like watching English-language television and choosing the English option on automated phone messages.

"Accent is part of culture," he said. "You're not going to loose your accent. You can improve your pronunciation, but the accent is part of you."

Elizabeth Baier can be reached at ebaier@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4637.

Video report

Watch students work on their pronunciation at Sun-Sentinel.com/accent

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

Language schools

Classes to help non-native English speakers improve their pronunciation are offered at community colleges and private language institutes around South Florida. Prices generally range from $100 to $150 per semester at community colleges and $200 to $5,000 at private language institutes. For more information visit:

Palm Beach Community College, www.pbcc.cc.fl.us

Broward Community College, www.broward.edu

Miami-Dade College, www.mdc.edu

You can find private institutes that offer accent reduction classes at these Web sites:

www.englishinusa.com

www.esl-guide.com

www.languageschools.com

306, 684

Palm Beach County residents who speaks a language other than English at home

279,566

Foreign-born residents of Palm Beach County; they make up 22 percent of the population